MassHousing Debuts 100 Percent Downpayment Aid Program

The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MassHousing) has introduced a downpayment assistance program that will enable qualified first-time homebuyers the opportunity to finance up to 100 percent of the purchase price of their first home.

 

MassHousing currently finances up to 97 percent of a home purchase price. With this new program, the agency is making downpayment assistance loans available to first-time homebuyers with annual household incomes at or below the area median income. Eligible households will earn $103,4000 or less in eastern Massachusetts, $85,700 in Worcester County, and $67,200 in Berkshire County. Homebuyers must still meet MassHousing’s underwriting criteria, including minimum credit score and debt-to-income (DTI) qualifications, and attend a homeownership education class.

 

“Record-low inventory levels, rising home prices, high rents, and student loan debt are all making it more difficult for the average Massachusetts household to afford to purchase a home,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “MassHousing’s new downpayment assistance program will help ensure that homeownership remains accessible to working families, by allowing creditworthy homebuyers to buy their first home with little to no downpayment requirement. By boosting the buying power of low-, moderate- and middle-income households, MassHousing will support investment in neighborhoods, help the state’s workforce remain rooted in Massachusetts, and advance the Agency’s mission of confronting housing challenges facing the Commonwealth, to improve the lives of its people.”

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